31–40 of 143 posts
I can't ever see myself using a service like this for fear of somebody developing my idea first. Many of the good 'apps' out there quickly generate copy-cat apps, this will just take the originators out of the loop :)
Earlier quoted context omitted.
We're trying to be smart about this. LaunchSky is to test out what you should build and what you shouldn't. We're currently gauging that interest with the HN community. If the interest in this product is there, we'll of course invest in the right legal grounds to do what's possible to protect some of the ideas being posted. This can get pricy, but if the interest is there, it's definitely something we're willing to i…
"Built it or not" sounds good. I have ideas but don't have the time to develop them all. Just the worry that I/another user might share a game changer idea and someone else builds it before I/we do.
Here's my question: how do you get & keep a critical mass of people on the site to evaluate these ideas?
Admittedly, this is one of our biggest challenges. It's the classic chicken/egg problem (posting ideas and actually evaluating them). Based on feedback (from this post, for example), we'd like to figure out exactly how we incentivize that "egg" side of the equation. One idea was to have people post a (optional) perk with their idea (i.e. how we're letting anyone who signs up post a free first idea), but this may be h…
Developer A posts there idea, and utilizes their social network to get feedback.
Developer A's social network looks at Developer A's project, then comments etc. then is forwarded to Developer B's project.
You will lose a lot of conversions between A and B, but it would add value to have completely outside people evaluating ideas and signing up for the email list.
You could create a system where the more people come through a link created by developer A, the more referrals they get. That would incentivize developer A to not be a free rider.
Steve Jobs famously avoided asking people what they wanted, instead showing them what they wanted. His philosophy was often described as arrogant, but guess what? He was frequently right -- people often accepted his ideas about a product they couldn't imagine until he showed it to them.
I don't think this approach is appropriate for the vast majority of entrepreneurs. Mr. Jobs was a unique character with a perspective on the world that few others (appear to) share. It seems that entrepreneurs these days are concerned with "building something awesome (to also make money)", and that's not what Steve Jobs did.
Only the successful ones. It's one thing to create a product that answers an existing need (and that may already have competition). It's quite another to create a product that people don't realize they need until they see it.
The classic example is the personal computer. Steve Wozniak tried and failed to interest HP (his employer at the time) in backing his personal project, a small, one-board computer that anyone could own. HP didn't see the potential, so Woz was allowed to carry the idea away from his employer and pursue it on his own.
As Jobs often said, it's the difference between evolutionary and revolutionary.
Don't get me wrong -- I personally never got along with Jobs and couldn't work with him, but in this respect, he was often proven right.
Steve Jobs famously avoided asking people what they wanted, instead showing them what they wanted. His philosophy was often described as arrogant, but guess what? He was frequently right -- people often accepted his ideas about a product they couldn't imagine until he showed it to them.
That's interesting, with two caveats: - Many people may be wary of giving an idea for which they see a huge potential, but it may not be a problem for side projects - I don't see what the people giving their opinion would gain. Maybe it's just the thrill of being pitched new ideas regularly? Cool idea in any case.
For people posting: quick, protected, easy, elegant, keeps early adopters so that you can reach out them if it's built.
For those evaluating an idea: Their absolutely needs to be a clear incentive. We'll get this figured out. Maybe a field for "early adopter perks" or a ladder of incentives for how soon someone supports an idea. In any case, this is definitely something we have to nail.
Here's my question: how do you get & keep a critical mass of people on the site to evaluate these ideas?
Steve Jobs famously avoided asking people what they wanted, instead showing them what they wanted. His philosophy was often described as arrogant, but guess what? He was frequently right -- people often accepted his ideas about a product they couldn't imagine until he showed it to them.
I would rephrase that to " making them want through marketing".
Steve Jobs famously avoided asking people what they wanted, instead showing them what they wanted. His philosophy was often described as arrogant, but guess what? He was frequently right -- people often accepted his ideas about a product they couldn't imagine until he showed it to them.
When one has a multitude waiting eagerly for pronouncements, then, of course, solving the problem of showing may be left as an exercise for the reader.
Steve Jobs famously avoided asking people what they wanted, instead showing them what they wanted. His philosophy was often described as arrogant, but guess what? He was frequently right -- people often accepted his ideas about a product they couldn't imagine until he showed it to them.
Lots of people and creative entrepreneurs in the world. 1 steve jobs :)